Ruskin's Turret
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Description
Before our recent holiday, I'd only vaguely heard of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ruskin" rel="noreferrer nofollow">John Ruskin. I knew that he was a Victorian polymath but little else. However, since visiting http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brantwood" rel="noreferrer nofollow">Brantwood, I've learnt a lot more about the man. His interests were massive; they spanned fine art, literary criticism, architecture, geology, ornithology, travel and social reform. He was immensely productive, publishing over 250 works. Most of his books are out of print but I downloaded a few of more famous ones as eBooks. I must admit that I struggle with his form of prose; I'm only 2/3rds through Sesame and Lilies. And I might not finish it, TBH. Many of his books were based on famous lectures and perhaps are difficult to read as a result of this. On the matter of social reform, his vigour and intellect was curiously prescient, with his social criticism being well ahead of his time. He is said to have had had a global influence, with Gandhi citing his work as seminal. His ideas have influenced many issues long after he died. He is credited with inspiring many venerable institutions such as the NHS, the National Trust, and even the modern Olympic Games. At the age of 52, with the bulk of his life's work behind him, he moved to Brantwood, a large house on the shores of Coniston Water, one of the larger lakes in the English Lake District. He lived here for 28 years and died age 80 in 1900. Some while after his death, the house was bought and turned into a museum dedicated to the great man. He added this turret to his bedroom soon after moving there. It has cracking views and I can imagine the great man perched up there, thinking Big Thoughts whilst drinking in views of the lake and surrounding fells. He is my new old Victorian hero. -
Owner
Rum Bucolic Ape -
Source
Flickr (Flickr) -
License
What does this mean? Attribution-NoDerivs License
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Further information
Link: https://www.flickr.com/photos/70521654@N00/17170576370/
Resource type: Image
Added by: Simon Cotterill
Last modified: 5 years ago
Viewed: 384 times
Picture Taken: 2015-04-10T12:36:13 -
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